Hong Kong property agents still up to old tricks despite new rules on adverts for flats
- Bait-and-switch tactics and flats advertised even though they are off the market still common, Post analysis finds
- This is three months after industry watchdog warned against the ploys
In Hong Kong’s sky-high property market, looking for a home can be frustrating, especially when an agent tells an excited flat-hunter that an advertised bargain is actually out of date.
It will be even more exasperating if the agent then floods the potential buyer with offers that are not as good, in the hope of closing a pricier deal.
It was tactics such as this which led industry watchdog the Estate Agents Authority (EAA) to bring in new rules against misleading or inaccurate property advertisements three months ago. But a Post inspection of 17 agencies posting online or in shopfronts still found two in three suspected of breaches, including major industry players like Centaline Property Agency and Midland Realty.
“The new guidelines aim to address the problem of rampant fake ads in the industry,” said Lawrance Wong Dun-king, honorary chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Professional Property Consultants, which represents more than 300 agency branches across the city. Wong is also a member of the EAA.
“It will not wipe out fake ads overnight, but it’s the first step,” he said. “It will be a long war to get rid of this bad habit of the industry.”